VOICES: Postindustrial America is front and center in latest, “historic” Trump indictment

It may be tempting to “ho-hum” your way through the latest indictment of a former American president considering it marks the third time the previously “unprecedented” has occurred in recent months.

But rest assured, this third indictment of Trump is unlike the first two alleging he unlawfully retained boxes of sensitive state secrets and his supposed efforts to cover up a hush-money payment to an adult film star.

The third indictment outlines in great detail the myriad ways in which Trump allegedly attempted to undermine the very foundation of American Democracy: free and fair elections followed by a peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.

The 45-page indictment produced by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team is replete with so many examples of the ways in which Trump and his co-conspirators — again, allegedly — attempted what amounts to a soft coup that it’s both sobering and dizzying in its scope.

The four counts against Trump are:

Conspiracy to Defraud the United States; Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding; and Conspiracy Against Rights

If you haven’t read the full indictment, I strongly encourage you to take time to pore over the clearly written explanation of the numerous ways in which Trump was told time and time again that he had lost and knowingly attempted to remain in office anyway.

Page 1 alone reads in part:

Despite having lost, the Defendant [Trump] was determined to remain in power. So, for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won. These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false. But the Defendant repeated and widely disseminated them anyway to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.

Whew. That is about as serious a series of charges a former leader can face short of treason.

And it only gets more damning and explicit from there.

Once you’ve read the entire indictment, you’ll note that several states in Postindustrial America were central to the plot to undermine the last presidential election.

Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are named, among other states, where Trump and co-conspirators “organized fraudulent slates of electors … attempting to mimic the procedures that the legitimate electors were supposed to follow under the Constitution and other federal and state laws” (Page 5).

Georgia is mentioned a whopping 48 times in the indictment, the most of any Postindustrial States.

And it’s in Georgia where Trump is likely facing a fourth indictment, this time a state rather than federal charge, accusing him of attempting to interfere with the state’s election count, most notably in his recorded call to the Georgia secretary of state.

So, what do some of the state’s most prominent lawmakers think of the alleged crimes committed by Trump?

“I will still vote for Trump even if he’s in jail,” tweeted the Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene following the indictment’s release

Can’t say I’m surprised by Greene’s unwavering loyalty to Trump or that of his other ardent supporters on Capitol Hill and around the country. This indictment will likely not sway many MAGA loyalists from abandoning Trump.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, a false elector scheme aimed at undermining that state’s ratification of the 2020 race is also a major component of this latest indictment.

In neighboring Michigan, Trump “electors” were already charged last month for their efforts to subvert the will of voters. And on the same day this “historic” third indictment was unsealed, two Trump allies, including a former Republican state attorney general candidate, were charged in an effort to illegally tamper with voting machines.

Finally, Pennsylvania readers should pay close attention to the alleged election schemes attempted in the Keystone State beginning on page 19 of the indictment.

That all four Postindustrial States featured in the indictment are crucial swing states makes the political implications all the more serious ahead of the 2024 election.

As it was in 2016, then again in 2020, our region will be a deciding factor in determining whether we will elect a now thrice-indicted Trump.

Postindustrial America’s voters helped Trump win the presidency in 2016, then denied him a second term four years later.

This time around, our role is far more serious than even those two extremely consequential elections.

In 2024, Postindustrial voters will likely determine whether our nation will endure.